Educational Games for Kids on the PSP

Written by carrie burns

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Video games aren't all mindless massacres. Invest in educational games for peace of mind. (Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images)

Hand-held gaming devices can be just another distraction from learning, but if you buy your children educational games they can learn while they play. Educational games for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) come in different varieties, one of which is likely to capture your child's attention so that they are learning while they think they are just playing a video game.

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Plato Achieve

Plato Achieve is a learning game for the PSP proven to improve student achievement. There are math and reading focused programs that teach skills generally taught to children in kindergarten through seventh grade. It was the first educational game platform developed for the PSP. Along with the game, you receive supplemental home and school educational activities, assessment materials and teacher materials to help incorporate game play into your home or school lesson plans.

Mind Quiz

Mind Quiz is the PSP's answer to the Nintendo DS game Brain Age. Geared for people of all ages, players can play a different set of any of 49 games daily to help improve memory, response time, judgment and calculation. After completing the daily set of activities, players can find out their approximate brain age based on results and track improvement. The game can be played as a single-player or multiplayer game. Games like Mind Quiz tend to be more satisfying for people who compete against themselves, as the gameplay itself can seem a little more like homework than fun video gaming. As a bonus, parents might find this game entertaining too.

Harvest Moon Series

Harvest Moon are games where kids play as a character and create a life for him. Children can play as a boy or girl character and eventually marry, have a child and cultivate a farm. The smarter your choices in the game, the more rewarding your character's life will be. Children will learn how to think about life choices and learn life skills in a whimsical village as they raise children and show livestock. Boys and girls alike are suited for these games, which come in a variety of settings but are similar in objective. Harvest Moon games are suitable for children of all ages.

Crush

Puzzle games are some of the more common educational games on the PSP, but some of the stand out above the rest. Crush, which offers both 2D and 3D graphics, switching between the two perspectives, offers players different ways to solve the challenges and gets kids thinking in different points of view. With an engaging storyline to accompany the challenges, your character completes puzzles that are integrated into the story for 40 levels of play.